I am a 9th grade student at Riverside High School. I enjoy playing baseball, reading, and writing. I believe students should be collaborating and using their minds instead of completing worksheets and taking notes. As a member of the #BowTieBoys, we strive to improve the English classroom in ways that impact the teacher and the students.

Sunday, March 5, 2017

Creating a Classroom Environment

Throughout my learning experiences, I have learned that the environment
inside of a classroom is a crucial part of the learning process.“The classroom is the primary component in
all learning by virtue of the fact that it is where students go each day.” (The
English Teacher’s Companion, 2008) It affects the morale of a student more than
anything.When students are subjected to
a negative climate almost every day, the motivation and work ethic of the
student will suffer.A student should
always walk into a setting that is warm and welcoming to all.This setting should encourage thinking
differently and collaboration with peers. The responsibility of providing this environment
falls into the teacher’s hands.At the
end of the day, they are the ones who decide what students find in their room, whether
it be joy or despair.Crafting this
climate is difficult to master for most educators. There are two major factors
when creating classroom environment. These are the physical and mental aspect
of the class.Although not all teachers
have their own classroom, they can determine the intellectual and emotional
climate of the room.

The physical aspect of the classroom is extremely important.Students should not be expected to be
motivated and inspired when the classroom is dull and bland. A positive experience when learning relies on
appearance just as much as anything.The
physical layout of the classroom reflects the teaching style.For example, if students are to work in small
groups, they should be organized in small tables or clusters of desks.For frequent class-wide discussions, a circle
or a U-shape form is best.The simple
choice of allowing students to decide where they sit has a long-term effect on
respect between the teacher and the student.To assume that most students are not responsible enough to choose their
own seats is insulting.If students show
that they, in fact, cannot handle this level or responsibility, they should be
quickly seated elsewhere. “No student
has the right to insult or otherwise interfere with the work of anyone else in
the class.” (The English Teacher’s Companion, 2008)

Emotional environment depends on creating a classroom where
students know they can speak without the fear of rejection or embarrassment.This type of climate is especially hard to
produce due to challenge of creating a safe environment without relinquishing
the role as a teacher.To accomplish
this, there must be a balance of building relationships with students and
maintaining boundaries and hierarchies that keeps everyone secure.Students should know that the teacher is in
charge of the classroom while also knowing that the teacher is a kind, caring
individual who is in their corner.An
entire day’s success can be undermined by a student who feels like he or she
isn’t part of the “team” and that they aren’t safe in the classroom.This can be solved by free and open
interaction between the adults and the students.Teachers should also clearly establish at the
beginning of the year that students have permission to think differently and
anyone who criticizes another’s idea is undermining the class community.

Every student should come into a class knowing that they
will be required to use their critical thinking skills to learn something
new.Having this state of mind in the
classroom represents great intellectual environment.Students should always be held to a high
expectation.It is much easier to have
little to know expectations from students, but this only hurts them.There is no challenge involved and nothing to
work towards.When teachers hold their
students to high expectations, they learn to rise to the occasion and perform. Helping
students reach their potential is what makes a teacher great. “It’s about
potential realized or squandered, dignity enhanced or denied.” (The One World
Schoolhouse, 2012) Once they finally achieve their goals, there is much more
satisfaction and reward from both ends.Another
way to improve the mental environment in class is to promote student leadership.To develop their confidence as learners,
students should be provided with many opportunities to share their ideas,
opinions, and make decisions.Responsibility should also be gradually released to students.These methods will make the student feel as
though their opinion matters and that they are making things happen.All of this will help the intellectual
environment in the classroom improve dramatically.

The classroom is the place in which students go each day
with the expectation to learn something new.What they find there is up to the teacher.Teachers are in charge of creating an environment
in which every student is welcome regardless of their beliefs or
differences.The mental and physical
aspect of the classroom has just as much of an impact on student learning than
the material being taught.Every piece
of the atmosphere should be packed with evidence of such learning and
thinking.It is essential that every
teacher is familiar with the concept of classroom environment so that they can
tailor to the needs and wants of every individual student.Once a sense of community has been developed,
the amount of trust and respect will increase dramatically.“In fundamental ways, the intellectual and
physical environment of the classroom itself sets the standards for what is
important…” (The English Teacher’s Companion, 2008)

Works Cited:

Burke, Jim. The English teacher's companion: a complete guide to classroom, curriculum, and the profession. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2008. Print.

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Sean Pettit

Blog Archive

The classroom is too often a dull place where a teacher lectures and the students listen. With federal mandates forcing teachers to teach to the test, students rely on their memorization skills to pass. Students consider failure on these tests as a mark of shame and in turn lower their expectations of themselves.

If the classroom could become a place where creation, free thinking, questioning, and speculation have the greatest focus, who can determine the potential? Teachers should focus on real life skills so students can learn "how to learn" and can take these skills to other classes as well as the real world.